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Premotor neurons encode torsional eye velocity during smooth-pursuit eye movementsResponses to horizontal and vertical ocular pursuit and head and body rotation in multiple planes were recorded in eye movement-sensitive neurons in the rostral vestibular nuclei (VN) of two rhesus monkeys. When tested during pursuit through primary eye position, the majority of the cells preferred either horizontal or vertical target motion. During pursuit of targets that moved horizontally at different vertical eccentricities or vertically at different horizontal eccentricities, eye angular velocity has been shown to include a torsional component the amplitude of which is proportional to half the gaze angle ("half-angle rule" of Listing's law). Approximately half of the neurons, the majority of which were characterized as "vertical" during pursuit through primary position, exhibited significant changes in their response gain and/or phase as a function of gaze eccentricity during pursuit, as if they were also sensitive to torsional eye velocity. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed a significant contribution of torsional eye movement sensitivity to the responsiveness of the cells. These findings suggest that many VN neurons encode three-dimensional angular velocity, rather than the two-dimensional derivative of eye position, during smooth-pursuit eye movements. Although no clear clustering of pursuit preferred-direction vectors along the semicircular canal axes was observed, the sensitivity of VN neurons to torsional eye movements might reflect a preservation of similar premotor coding of visual and vestibular-driven slow eye movements for both lateral-eyed and foveate species.
Document ID
20040087750
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Angelaki, Dora E.
(Washington University School of Medicine, Central Institute for the Deaf and Hearing Research Department, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States)
Dickman, J. David
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
April 1, 2003
Publication Information
Publication: The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience
Volume: 23
Issue: 7
ISSN: 0270-6474
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: EY-12814
CONTRACT_GRANT: DC-04260
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Non-NASA Center
NASA Discipline Neuroscience

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